Azerbaijan offers humanitarian ceasefire to Armenia: FM
As Azerbaijan proposes a humanitarian ceasefire to Armenia, it further occupies more Armenian territories.
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Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (AP)
Amid ongoing clashes, Azerbaijan has proposed a humanitarian ceasefire to Armenia, as per the Foreign Ministry.
In a statement, the Ministry said, “Baku unilaterally offered the Armenian side a humanitarian ceasefire, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a meeting [on Wednesday] with Russian presidential representative for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy."
It is worth noting that Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Wednesday of occupying a pocket of its territory seized in fierce clashes between the warring neighbors that killed more than 150 people.
In the same context, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that Azerbaijan has seized another 10 square kilometers of Armenian territory this month.
"In May 2021, Azerbaijan occupied 40 square kilometers of Armenia's territory, with 10 square kilometers more now," Pashinyan said during a parliamentary session.
He also noted that the Armenian military was now trying to tackle the repercussions of the escalation.
Armenia and Azerbaijan had initially agreed to implement a ceasefire Monday at 05:00 GMT.
But on Tuesday, Azerbaijani soldiers advanced along various areas of the border, renewing violent clashes.
Earlier, both sides exchanged blame, with Yerevan accusing the Azerbaijani military of shelling the territory of Armenia late on Monday using artillery and drones. On its part, Baku said the Armenian military fired at the positions of the Azerbaijani troops on the border, resulting in a clash. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also reported losses in its ranks, without specifying them.
Clashes erupt every now and then between both sides despite a Russian-backed ceasefire agreement. Last month, tensions erupted over Nagorno-Karabakh as three soldiers were killed and Azerbaijan said it had taken control of several strategic heights in the disputed region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two conflicts over Azerbaijan's Armenian-populated area of Nagorno-Karabakh, one in 2020 and one in the 1990s.
Six weeks of violence in the autumn of 2020 claimed over 6,500 lives and ended with a ceasefire accord sponsored by Russia. Russia sent 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the truce, but tensions remain despite a ceasefire deal.
